Woman asked to leave gym for wearing shorts that looked like G-string

The Sydney woman who was “asked to leave” her gym because of her outfit has revealed she later realised she’d been wearing her “scrunch bum shorts” inside out at the time of the incident.

Gabi Goddard was kicked out of a gym in Hornsby for wearing a pair of grey bike shorts and a black crop top after a teacher who was using the facility with some students complained about the “children seeing so much skin”.

The 27-year-old shared a photo of her outfit on Instagram earlier this month, stating she had been approached by a member of staff and asked to go home and “change” before she could continue her workout.

Gabi labelled the move “horrifying” and her post quickly went viral, with many agreeing the situation was “unacceptable” and encouraged “objectifying women”.

But after confronting the gym owner, she has since discovered it was actually her who took issue with the outfit after thinking she had a G-string on the outside of her pants.

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In a piece penned for Mamamia, Gabi said that when she was initially approached she was asked, “Are you wearing a G-string?”

The question had left her feeling “hot and dumbfounded” with Gabi explaining she was confused about why she was being quizzed over her underwear.

“G-strings are all I ever wear; they’re comfortable and I like having no lines underneath my clothing. Wait, this is INSANE. Why am I defending my underwear choices to the gym?” she wrote.

The gym owner then explained people thought she was wearing a “G-string on top of your shorts” when in actual fact Gabi was wearing a pair of “scrunch-bum shorts” – which are deliberately designed to accentuate the body’s natural figure – adding the outfit had made her feel like a “superhero at the gym”.

But after being asked to “change” or wrap a towel around her waist Gabi agreed to leave – and took her issue straight to the principal of the school where the teacher worked.

However while the principal apologised for her “distress”, it was revealed the “incident was not instigated by our staff”.

So Gabi went back to the gym owner, who admitted it was her who had the problem with the shorts after mistaking the scrunch detail for underwear, explaining on Instagram she later realised had been wearing them “inside out” at the time.

“I still firmly believe what I wore was totally appropriate and also no one’s business but mine,” she wrote.

“It took me a solid two days to realise that this (the shorts) was probably what the problem was all along.”

Her experience has garnered lots of support after being shared by well-known feminist Clementine Ford and the Instagram page The Nasty Woman Club.

“This stuff drives me crazy, I wouldn’t want my daughter being told what to wear by a stranger,” one person wrote on Instagram.

“This is infuriating. Please tell us how we can support this complaint, I am outraged,” another said.

“I’m the mother of an 11-year-old boy and I expect no one to change their outfit for his benefit,” someone else added.

Others said they were “mad” and branded the situation “unacceptable”.

However Gabi has also received a torrent of abuse online, sharing screenshots of messages from strangers she’s received telling her to “cover up”.

She has since switched gyms sharing a video of herself working out last weekend in a pair of black and white stripped leggings and a blue crop top.

Bike shorts – which have been made trendy by a range of A-list celebrities – might have raised a few eyebrows recently, but they are soaring in popularity.

Australian fitness brand STAX revealed on Friday its new range of the spandex garment had sold out in 30 minutes, netting $250,000.

The collection was in collaboration with fitness influencer Steph Pacca and featured the $54.95 spandex shorts in a range of different colours with a matching one-shoulder sports bra.

“The STAX X Steph Pacca was our biggest influencer collaboration launch yet, earning $250,000 in 30 minutes,” co-owner Matilda Murray told news.com.au.

“We really didn’t think the launch would be so big, especially considering we had to cancel our Gold Coast runway launch party one week before the event due to the Queensland borders closing and COVID restrictions,” she added.

“But we have now sold out in our most popular sizes, despite ordering more stock.”

STAX is no stranger to creating sellout activewear designs. Its $75 “best black tights” have hundreds of five-star reviews online and have been worn by some of Australia’s biggest influencers.

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | rebekah.scanlan@news.com.au

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